Clinical psychologist David Manfield discusses his history with diagnosing and treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, its physical and psychological ,mechanisms, and how floatation therapy could be beneficial to treating and resolving PTSD. ​

AUSTIN, Texas (WKRC) -- Nearly 20 percent of veterans who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq have post-traumatic stress disorder. Army veteran Cody Austell grew up on Fort Hood, but after he came home from a 16 month deployment in Iraq his life took an unexpected turn.​

Stress is a widespread issue that affects most people in today's society at one time or another and comes in many forms. Stress affects our mood, thoughts, behavior, and even has a physiological affect on our brain and body. It has been shown that stress causes our brain to produce adrenaline and cortisol which damages the cells of the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and even reduce the physical size of these parts of the brain over time. Stress is one of the leading underlying causes of heart disease, stroke, insomnia, fatigue, depression, anger, suicide, ulcers, migraines, and drug and alcohol abuse to name a few. The interesting thing regarding stress is that it is a "perceived" threat against us. Therefore, it may be contemplated that by changing our "perception" of stress, we may be able to overcome the level of power it has on us. This would explain why a stressful event may completely ruin your day, while the same event may have little to no affect on another, or even make them laugh it off.The float tank provides an environment that has been known to allow us a level of quiet inflection that brings awareness to our responses to these stressors and hit the reset button on perception. While in the float tank, the levels of adrenaline and cortisol are lowered dramatically and gives way to the production of endorphins and a neurochemical called dopamine, which our body rewards us with and is responsible for making us feel happy and relaxed.

Studies have been done on Floatation Therapy and high stress workers with "burn out" syndrome. This level of stress can lead to sickness in people and loss of time on the job. Floatation can help lower blood cortisol levels and keep workers from calling in sick and reduce costs for businesses and health care. (International Journal of Psychology)

Anxiety is one of the most common psychologically diagnosed conditions (more common than depression) and is on pace to affect a third of the population in a matter of a few years. Anxiety is a future state of mind, experienced in the present moment and is one of the many important reasons why meditation promotes "being" in the present moment. Anxiety can be a useful tool in the sense that it can warn us of potential dangers and bring mindfulness to risks in everyday life, but anxiety negatively affects many people in a host of varying forms such as, generalized anxiety disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Anxiety also negatively affects our sleep patterns, immune system, appetite, and triggers our sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our "fight-or-flight" response. The sympathetic nervous system prepares us for stress and anxiety by increasing heart rate and blood pressure, increasing perspiration, while inhibiting the function of our liver, kidneys, gall bladder, intestines, and dialates the bronchioles and pupils. Floating helps to counteract anxiety by triggering our parasympathetic nervous system which takes control over the actions of the sympathetic nervous system and is responsible for the "rest and digest" response (the opposite of "fight or flight") by slowing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, contracting the pupils, and stimulating the liver, kidneys, gall bladder, and digestive organs back to their normal function. Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems make up our autonomous nervous system and as you can see, play very important roles in our responses to stimulus and have the power to turn emotions into physical manifestations. Living in a constant state of anxiety takes a toll on our sympathetic nervous system and can lead to many issues and diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, erectile dysfunction in men, seizures, tremors, troubles with breathing, memory loss, loss of muscle strength, ulcerative colitis, and many other digestive issues. So if you feel that anxiety plays a role in your life or is possibly an underlying cause of any of these symptoms, why not come in for a float and see how it makes you feel?

"The future is a concept, and therefore this time does not exist. As the proverb says, "tomorrow never comes". There is no such thing as tomorrow, and there never will be, because the time is always now" - Alan Watts

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What people are saying about floating with us....

"This is the first time in years that I haven't felt pain!" "It is a must for anyone with arthritis." "Floating once a month allows me to be migraine free!""Floating while 8 months pregnant was just what I needed.""It's amazing!"